North American Electric Reliability

Corporation History and

Developments

Rhaiza Villafranca

Reliability Assessment Performance Analysis

Technical Analyst

GRIDSCHOOL, Institute of Public Utilities, Richmond Virginia

December 8-9, 2009

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What is NERC?

FERC has designated the North American Electric Reliability Corporation (NERC) as the “Electric Reliability Organization” (ERO) for the United States.

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Electric Power: Players, Drivers, Etc.

RELIABILITY POLICITALREALITIES &OBJECTIVES

$ - FINANCEENVIRONMENT

REGULATORS

SOCIALCONCERNS

ENGINEERINGFEASIBILITY

POWERINDUSTRY

NATIONALSECURITY

CONSUMERS

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Fully Functioning ERO

Develop strong reliability standards

Strictly enforce compliance

Independent Reliability Assessment

Evaluate Past Performance & Root Cause Analysis

Promote excellence in planning and operations

Promote continuous improvement through analysis of events and “Lessons Learned”

Training, education, and certification of personnel

Real-time situation awareness

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Primary Functions

Mission: Ensure the reliability of the Bulk Power system (BPS)

Assess the BPS operations & future reliability

Collaboratively Set Standards for BPS Performance

Enforce requirements of these Standards

Collaborate with the government

Train and certify operators

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Evolution of Electricity Competition

1978 – PURPA introduced competition

1991 – DOE National Energy Strategy

• Allow independent power producers

• Encourage open access to transmission

1992 – EPAct

• NERC action plan for the future

1996 – FERC Orders on Open Access

• Put NERC on a course to become a self-regulatory reliability organization and ERO

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Regulation of Electricity

FERC

• Promoted wholesale competition, Order No. 888

• Entrants of ISOs and RTOs

States

• Adequate, safe, reliable service

• Rates for retail power sales, T&D rates

• Facility certification and siting

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About NERC: VitalsAbout NERC: Vitals

Independent non-profit corporation headquartered in Princeton, NJ

Second office in Washington, DC

NERC has over 112 employees

• Engineers, auditors, system operators, analysts, trainers, accountants, policy specialists, lawyers, and administrative assistants

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Delegated functions

• Compliance

• Regional standards

• Organization registration

• Reliability assessment

Regional consistency is key

• Transparency

• Predictability

• Uniform outcomes

About NERC: 8 Regional EntitiesAbout NERC: 8 Regional Entities

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NERC Reliability Coordinators

CMRC -California Mexico Reliability CoordinatorERCOT - ERCOT ISOFRCC -Florida Power & LightTE - Hydro Quebec, TransEnergieICTE - Independent Coordinator Transmission – EntergyISNE - ISO New England Inc.MISO - Midwest ISONBSO – New Brunswick System OperatorNYIS - New York Independent System OperatorONT - Ontario - Independent Electricity System OperatorPNSC - Pacific Northwest Reliability CoordinatorPJM - PJM InterconnectionRDRC - Rocky Desert Reliability CoordinatorSPC - Saskatchewan Power Corporation – SOCO - Southern Company Services, Inc.SWPP - Southwest Power PoolTVA - Tennessee Valley AuthorityVACS - VACAR-South

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RTO/ISOs (chart from IRC Council)

RTOs: MISO, ISO-NE, PJM, SPPISOs: AESO, CAISO, ERCOT, IESO, NYISO, NBSO

ISOs and RTOs

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Self Regulation Means…Self Regulation Means…

Regulation

• Mandatory compliance with standards

• Penalties for standards violations

Self – Industry Stakeholders …

• Develop standards

• Elect independent board

• Approve changes to bylaws

Audited

• Independent review of actions, first by board and then by FERC

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Program Areas

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Standards Development

Compliance Enforcement

Compliance Operations

Reliability Assessments and Performance Analysis

Critical Infrastructure Protection

Engineering and Operations

Situational Awareness

Training, Education, and Personnel Certification

Program Areas (Revised Acc. To Gerry’s letter)

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Monitoring and Standards Implementation

94 NERC standards mandatory in the U.S.

• 24 pending

54 actively monitored

• Transitional phase in of CIP standards per implementation plan

Regional Entities perform compliance monitoring activities on behalf of NERC (with NERC oversight)

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Compliance Monitoring and Enforcement Program (CMEP) Consistency and uniformity of CMEP

implementation• RSAWs (Reliability Standards Audit Worksheets)

• Standardized CMEP process documents

Self-Reporting Form

Self-Certification Form

Mitigation Plan submittal forms

• Formal direction and guidance

e.g. Process Directives• NERC training

Auditor, CVI , & CIP training

• Audits of RE conformance to and performance of the Uniform CMEP

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Reliability Assessment 2009 Findings

NERC Annual Completes A Long-Term Reliability Assessment for a 10-year period

For example, in 2009 analysis included:

• Monitor reserve margins

• Monitor performance of demand response

• Assess the natural gas supply/delivery and impacts

• Monitor transmission siting and planning delays

• Assess the challenges of technology demands for integration of variable generation

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2009 Emerging Issues

Economic Recession– Demand Uncertainty

Transmission Siting

Energy Storage

Workforce Issues

Cyber Security

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2009 Emerging & Standing Issues

Emerging Issues Risk Evolution:

Consequence

Lik

elih

oo

d

High

HighLow

Greenhouse Gas Regulations

Cyber Security

Transmission Siting

Variable Generation

Issues

Reactive Power

Energy Storage

Economy Issues

1-5 Years6-10 Years

Workforce Issues

Smart Grid & AMI

Like

liho

od

ConsequenceLowerLower

HigherHigher

HigherHigher

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Standing Issues (Ongoing work)

Variable Generation Integration

Greenhouse Gas Initiatives

Reactive Power

Smart Grid and AMI

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Critical Infrastructure Protection

Cyber-security

Determine High-Impact, Low-Frequency Events and risks involved

NERC Secure Alert System in deployment

Modification of Reliability Standards for CIP

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NERC’s Sample of Task Forces

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New Renewable Capacity

2018 Variable Generation Capacity

1. 2,000 MW of Solar Generation

(Includes Existing, Future, and Conceptual Generation Resources

2,000 MW of Solar Generation

Less than 2,000 MW of Wind Generation2,000 MW of Wind GenerationLess than 2,000 MW of Solar Generation

12,392 MW

18,125 MW

46,268 MW

62,041 MW

49,039 MW 45,700 MW

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IVGTF – Integration of Variable Generation Task Force

Areas of Further Study & Effort

High levels of variable generation will require significant transmission additions and reinforcements. Barriers to transmission development should be addressed

Additional flexible resources, such as demand response, plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, and energy storage may help balance steep “ramps”

Improved measurement, forecasting, and modeling of variable generation output is needed

2010 All Electric Chevrolet VoltCourtesy of General Motors

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Areas of Further Study & Effortcontinued

More comprehensive planning approaches and operational practices are needed, including probabilistic planning approaches

In aggregate, variable generation connected at the distribution level (i.e. local wind generation and rooftop solar panels) may impact bulk power system reliability

Deploying complementary types of variable generation (e.g. wind and solar), leveraging fuel diversity over large geographic regions, and advanced control technologies show promise in managing unique operating characteristics

Greater access to larger pools of generation and demand may facilitate the large-scale integration of variable resources

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RMWG - Reliability Metrics Working Group

Scope

• Identify reliability indicator trends over a period of time

• Assessing metrics through continuous communication and data validation from regions

• Informing the industry and the public of lessons learned

• Develop a performance metric to benchmark

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Smart Grid – Everybody has a vision…

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SGTF - Smart Grid Task Force Objectives

Identify the technologies and its contribution to reliability of BPS

Determine the implications of cyber security and protection implications on critical infrastructure

Determine the standards in effect

Provide recommendations

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Summary

NERC’s History and Developments

Regulatory Engagement FERC & DOE

8 Regional Entities/ Interconnections/ ISOs & RTOs

Program Areas: Standards, CMEP, RAPA, and CIP

Task Forces: IVGTF, RMWG, and SGTF

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Question & Answer